1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel injection control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, and a method for controlling an internal combustion engine.
2. Discussion of the Background
As a fuel injection control apparatus for an internal combustion engine of the related art, the control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-324661 is known. The internal combustion engine disclosed in this publication is a diesel engine including a fuel injection valve for each cylinder. The fuel injection valve directly injects fuel into a combustion chamber. Fuel is injected from a fuel injection valve separately a plurality of times (pilot injection and main injection): a small amount of fuel is injected at a predetermined crank angle in a compression stroke (e.g., 35 to 40 degrees before the compression top dead center (TDC)) (pilot injection); and the remaining majority of fuel is injected around the compression top dead center (main injection). Such divisional injection makes combustion of the injected fuel slow, thereby suppressing noise that accompanies combustion.